Jackson 5: New Year’s resolution revolution

First let me just say this. I HATE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS. With a passion. Why? Because this time of year I have to get into a fight with 8 people at the gym just to get to a treadmill. That will be the case until mid-April when people stop caring again until next January. Does that make me selfish? Probably, but I don’t care. I just want to go to the gym and use the equipment without it looking like a Black Friday sale for the next four months.

Anyway, despite my hatred of New Year’s Resolutions I’m going to make some for 2017. (And no, it’s not my typically sarcastic response of “eating less brussel sprouts.”) In fact, I’m going to make 5 sports fan resolutions for 2017 and my hope is that others will hop on board with these as well.

#1. I will wait until May 15th before criticizing a single thing Red Sox manager John Farrell does. The skipper will be here in Bangor in just a couple of weeks (get your tickets to see him here), and while I have been critical of him many times on The Drive in the past. I will withhold negative judgments for the first month and a half of the season. (Unless he pinch runs Steven Wright again. Hey, resolutions are made to be broken.)

#2. I will “stop and smell the roses” when it comes to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Patriots’ fans have become what most people hate (see, Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees). Spoiled rotten brats that keep screaming MORE! MORE SUPER BOWLS! MORE TOUCHDOWNS! I’m more than willing to throw myself in with that crowd, but taking a step back from it all I’m going to be okay with it if New England fails to win another Super Bowl with this group. They’ve done enough. While I’d love to see them win another 1, 2, heck even 3, I’m also content with the knowledge that this group will go down as the best to ever do it.

#3. Watch 1 Boston Bruins game. I’m a diehard Bruins fan and have loved watching them for years. I went to the first Winter Classic game they ever played. As a grown man the only sports jersey you’ll see me wearing in public is a David Krejci one, because I feel like hockey jerseys double nicely as sweaters in the winter. But this team and its lack of vision and their willingness to embrace mediocrity has left me so frustrated this year that I’ve sworn them off for the season. I doubt I’m the only one that’s made this choice. There’s only so many hours in the day, why waste them on watching what will only disappoint you. That said, they’ve done alright this year, so I will watch one game and re-evaluate from there.

#4. Continue to pound the drums for Jordan Mickey. Anyone that listens to The Drive can probably tell you all about my love for the Celtics forward prospect. I rave about him every chance I get and for good reason! Once a week he has a stat line of 25 points, 15 boards and 5 blocks. He’s currently averaging 17, 9 and 3 for the Red Claws. I understand it’s in the D-League, but he’s done well with the big club in his rare opportunities, and he’s been up and down from Portland to Boston so much the team might start calling him Yo-Yo. Every single Celtics insider on our show has said they need more rim protection and rebounding (guard Avery Bradley is the team leader in rebounds and it’s not that close), and $113 million dollar man Al Horford isn’t cutting it. Bring Mickey up, commit to giving him 15-20 minutes a game and watch him work. I guarantee if you give him that amount of court time he’ll average more than Horford’s measly 6.5 rebounds per game.
#5 Watch more college football. I’ve never really been a big college football fan. Sure, I love going to a Maine game, but even at their best they’ll never match the talent seen at the D1 level. People keep raving about how good the college game has become, and while it seems like a foregone conclusion who will win the title every year (Roll Tide), I’m going to try my best to get on the bandwagon when it comes to following the sport more closely.

Aaron Jackson (@AaronRJackson) is a co-host on The Drive, weekdays 4pm to 6pm on 92.9fm The Ticket and streaming live at DriveShowMaine.com. Follow us on Twitter, @DriveShowMaine and “Like Us” on Facebook, Drive Show Maine.